Reporting of Adverse Events

tion to expand reporting of serious adverse events and medical errors, particularly mandatory re-porting, received the most attention and sparked con-troversy.2 The American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association raised strong objec-tions, claiming that mandatory reporting would in-crease liability and drive reporting underground.3 Clearly, the report struck a nerve. Although the response of the American Medical As-sociation reflected some confusion about the IOM’s advice — the call for mandatory reporting was di-rected at hospitals, not physicians — the discussion brought to the surface the unresolved conflict between the public’s desire for accountability and doctors ’ and hospitals ’ fear of damage to their reputations and of